Athrabeth Revisited
by Meril Gamgee
Summary: Extended repost. Legolas and Arwen talk on the eve of the Fellowship's departure about life, love, doubt, and their shared past.


A/N: Sorry about the repost everyone, but there was an issue between my Legolas and Arwen that needed to be resolved. This one is for a dear friend of mine, who shall never be forgotten.  
  
Legolas sat on a bench beside the bridge over the river, watching the waterfall. He was dressed in his silver tunic and green leggings, quietly contemplating the task that lay ahead of him. He looked up towards the sky and saw Eärendil, the Evening Star and most beloved of the Elves.  
  
'Eärendil, help me,' he said quietly. 'Please light my path and that of my companions, so that the Quest will not fail...' His voice trailed off. 'Please let not my people suffer, please let light back into the trees again, please...' Tears came to his eyes. 'Ai, Elbereth Gilthoniel! Someone, please, help me!'  
  
'Do you often speak to my grandsire?'  
  
The sweet voice startled Legolas out of his thoughts. 'Lady Arwen, I did not hear you approach.'  
  
She sat down on the bench beside him. 'So it seems.'  
  
'Do you not look to the stars for guidance? Do you not look upon your grandfather?'  
  
'I do,' Arwen admitted. 'I just never thought that others would look upon Eärendil as I do.'  
  
'I see not the need for you. You are a star yourself.'  
  
Arwen smiled. 'Even stars were begat by other stars more brighter and powerful.' She looked into his face, her eyes filled with concern. 'Are you well?'  
  
'No,' Legolas said quietly.  
  
'What is it. Have things gone ill at home?'  
  
Legolas nodded. 'Mirkwood is a far darker place. Dol Guldur grows ever stronger. Our borders are attacked mercilessly, our people slain... Their fear grows, as does their uncertainty. My father looks to me to protect them, to save Mirkwood by joining this fellowship and making sure this Ring is destroyed. The time of the Elves is over. Our strength and power is fading. Mirkwood was once Greenwood, lush and beautiful. It still is, but we have fled to the north, and spiders and other creatures have overtaken the forests.'  
  
'Mirkwood will become Greenwood again, I promise you. You have the strength and will to fight the evil, protect your people. I have known you ever since my birth, Legolas, you will succeed.'  
  
He gave Arwen a wry smile. 'But it is not up to me, Arwen. All of our hope lies in the hands of one halfling. Whether I can trust him with that hope, I cannot say. All I can trust in are the stars, in Elbereth, praying that the Evenstar will always light the path for me, even in the darkest places.'  
  
Arwen cradled his head in her hands and kissed his brow. 'You have the blessings of the Evenstar, whose light does not wax or wane. May it be that I shall be with you wherever you go. Estel will carry a part of me with him always, so the light of Eärendil will be by your side through the darkest road.'  
  
Legolas took her hands. 'I thank you, my lady. Your blessings will give me great comfort in the long, lonely places of the journey.'  
  
'Just promise me one thing, my lord.'  
  
'Name anything you wish.'  
  
'Just please, wherever you can...' Arwen's eyes filled with tears. 'Take care of Estel, be by his side always. He is strong, but he will need all of his friends with him. Will you look after him?'  
  
Legolas kissed Arwen's hand. 'Of course, my lady. You and Estel are among my dearest friends, I would do anything for you both. Do not fret. I shall keep him safe.'  
  
'And I shall watch over you from afar, if that gives you any comfort. My grandmother also will take care of you, the light of the morning.'  
  
'That shall comfort me greatly, although I prefer the twilight.' Legolas smiled, seemingly genuinely calm now.  
  
Arwen sighed and looked towards the waterfall reminiscing on a hurt and anger long past between them. 'I would have married you, you know, Legolas.'  
  
'I know. Are you still angry with me for fleeing before our marriage?'  
  
Arwen turned back to him. 'No,' she said softly. 'I know it was for the best now. We make the greatest of friends.'  
  
'But could we have been the greatest of lovers?'  
  
'Maybe. In another time, in another place. I was so hurt when you fled back to Mirkwood after our betrothal, Legolas. But now I think about it, I am glad it happened, for it was not very long after that I met Estel in the woods of my homeland, and found my love and my doom. But you and I will always be kindred spirits.'  
  
'You were forever restless Arwen. The life of an immortal was never meant for you. Nothing so beautiful was ever meant to last.'  
  
'Does that also extend to the love we once had?'  
  
Legolas nodded. 'That too was never meant to last. Maybe it could have, we will never know. When you chose to bind yourself to me, and I to you, I had a buried feeling that it would not. But I still bear love for you.'  
  
'As do I,' Arwen replied. 'And I always will.' She sighed. 'I wonder what would have happened if you did not flee to Mirkwood. What sort of life we would have had.'  
  
'I can only guess that by this time we would be trapped in a loveless marriage, with no Elf-children to brighten our days. We would have ended up resenting the other, even hating them. And that would not be worth it. I had a lot of growing up to do, to shed my carefree thoughts and take on the responsibility of eventually being a king to my people. It would not have been fair to you to drag you down with me.'  
  
'You shall be a great king, Legolas, do not fear. Even when I am long gone from this earth and my soul rests with those of Men, I shall still bear love for you and you will be in my thoughts always.'  
  
Legolas sighed. 'Those words chill my heart, those words of mortality. I would hate to see your beauty fade, doomed to linger while the rest of us live in the eternal bliss of Valinor. Will you not come with us? Come home?'  
  
Arwen looked at him sadly and shook her head. 'Mine is the choice of my foremother Lúthien. I have chosen to be numbered among Men, to stay here with my beloved and not go into the West. He shall live for many long years as a great king of Men and I shall live blissfully beside him.'  
  
'But Arwen, what will happen when he passes? I could not bear to see your grief, your pain, your sorrow.'  
  
'Then I shall have to fade and be with him, for I cannot live without him.' Although her voice was shaky, the determination in Arwen's voice was evident. Nothing could change her mind. Legolas could see the strength in her teary eyes. He nodded gravely.  
  
'Very well. I have a promise of my own, Evenstar. I promise that while yours and Estel's days last, I shall not depart over the Sea. I shall stay with you both until the very end.'  
  
'Would you?'  
  
Legolas nodded. 'I would bear the pain of separation a little longer, as I shall be separated from you both forever.'  
  
Arwen embraced him. 'Thank you,' she said simply.  
  
'No, Lady Undómiel. It is you who should be thanked.' He drew back and placed a hand on her cheek. 'I could not imagine a world without your light and beauty, Evenstar. It shall be a very dark place indeed.'  
  
'But hope shines ever. And love. While they survive, the world would never be truly dark.' 


End file.
